Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's request for reconsideration of the finality of the rejection of the last Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the finality of that action is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. § 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 8, 10, 13, 20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Si and Guo (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2020/0015214), herein referred to as “Si”, in view of Pan et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2020/0053781), herein referred to as “Pan.”, held further in view of Sarkis et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2019/0349900), herein referred to as “Sarkis”.
Regarding Claim 1,
Si discloses: A resource configuration indication method, comprising:
sending, by a terminal device, time domain resource indication information through a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH),
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0109] A vehicular communication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), contains the following three different types: 1) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications; 2) vehicle-to-infrastructure (V21) communications; and 3) vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. These three types of V2X can use “co-operative awareness” to provide more intelligent services for end-users. This means that transport entities, such as vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and pedestrians, can collect knowledge of their local environment (e.g., information received from other vehicles or sensor equipment in proximity) to process and share that knowledge in order to provide more intelligent services, such as cooperative collision warning or autonomous driving. A direct communication between vehicles in V2V is based on a sidelink (SL) interface, and SL is the UE to UE interface for synchronization, discovery, and communication.
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0269] In a second approach for the time-domain mapping of an S-SSB burst set, contiguous slots containing an S-SSB burst set can be mapped from starting from any slot within the period for transmitting the S-SSB burst set. In this approach, the starting location of the S-SSB burst set (e.g., slot index within the period) can be indicated to the V2X UE (such as using synchronization signals, or PBCH content, or DMRS of PBCH, or their combination), or can be pre-configured to the V2X UE.
Note: The “transmission resources” are being interpreted as the symbols in paragraph [0170] since Applicant’s paragraph [0072] states that symbol by symbol indication can indicate transmission resources of the sidelink.
Si does not disclose wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
However, Pan discloses: wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Note: The combination of transmission periods occur in the transmission occasions discussed above (e.g., 6 slots/12 occasions, 8 slots/32 occasions).
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Si also does not disclose the final limitations of this claim.
Sarkis further discloses: wherein the number of time domain resource units is configured to indicate a number Ni of time slots in each of the transmission periods, wherein Ni=Mi*Ki, Mi is the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods, a time domain resource unit comprises Ki time slots, a value of a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the Ki time slots is F, and Ki is a predefined positive integer.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Per Figure 6, Mi is being interpreted as the 1ms subframe, Ki is the slots, such that (for example) 10 subframes times 4 slots equals an Ni of 40 for that period.
Sarkis also discloses wherein when the transmission combination does not belong to a first transmission period combination set, Ki=1 and F is a first value, wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises transmission period combinations.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Figure 6 displays various radio frames, of which contain the subframes and slots previously discussed above. Using the example provided above where Ni = 40 as one period, this value can also change depending on the subframe/slot combination.
Sarkis further discloses when the transmission period combination belongs to the first transmission period combination set, Ki is a predefined positive integer greater than 1 and F is the first value.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Si and Sarkis are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time domain resource unit configured based on numerical equation as taught by Sarkis so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Pan discloses: wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises at least part of following transmission period combinations: 1 ms transmission period and 4 ms transmission period, 4 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period, 2 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 2 ms transmission period, 1 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time-based transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 8,
Si does not disclose all the limitations of Claim 8.
Pan discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein a first transmission period in the transmission period combination is less than a second transmission period in the transmission period combination.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having one period be less than the other period as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 10,
Si does not disclose all the limitations of Claim 10.
However, Sarkis discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein F comprises a first value and a second value, and the first value is greater than the second value.
[0071] A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR may support a base subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz and other subcarrier spacing may be defined with respect to the base subcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Si and Sarkis are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having one frequency value greater than the other frequency as taught by Sarkis so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 13,
Claim 13 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Si further discloses: A terminal device, comprising a communication unit configured to a memory, a processor and a computer program which is stored on the memory and may run on the processor, wherein when executing the program, the processor implements the following steps:
sending time domain resource indication information through a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH),
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0015] In one embodiment, a first user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The first UE comprises at least one processor configured to: determine a sidelink synchronization identity (SL-SID) and a set of resources.
[0020] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code.
[0109] A vehicular communication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), contains the following three different types: 1) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications; 2) vehicle-to-infrastructure (V21) communications; and 3) vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. These three types of V2X can use “co-operative awareness” to provide more intelligent services for end-users. This means that transport entities, such as vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and pedestrians, can collect knowledge of their local environment (e.g., information received from other vehicles or sensor equipment in proximity) to process and share that knowledge in order to provide more intelligent services, such as cooperative collision warning or autonomous driving. A direct communication between vehicles in V2V is based on a sidelink (SL) interface, and SL is the UE to UE interface for synchronization, discovery, and communication.
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0269] In a second approach for the time-domain mapping of an S-SSB burst set, contiguous slots containing an S-SSB burst set can be mapped from starting from any slot within the period for transmitting the S-SSB burst set. In this approach, the starting location of the S-SSB burst set (e.g., slot index within the period) can be indicated to the V2X UE (such as using synchronization signals, or PBCH content, or DMRS of PBCH, or their combination), or can be pre-configured to the V2X UE.
Note: The “transmission resources” are being interpreted as the symbols in paragraph [0170] since Applicant’s paragraph [0072] states that symbol by symbol indication can indicate transmission resources of the sidelink.
Si does not disclose wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
However, Pan discloses: wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Note: The combination of transmission periods occur in the transmission occasions discussed above (e.g., 6 slots/12 occasions, 8 slots/32 occasions).
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Si also does not disclose the final limitations of this claim.
Sarkis further discloses: wherein the number of time domain resource units is configured to indicate a number Ni of time slots in each of the transmission periods, wherein Ni=Mi*Ki, Mi is the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods, a time domain resource unit comprises Ki time slots, a value of a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the Ki time slots is F, and Ki is a predefined positive integer.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Per Figure 6, Mi is being interpreted as the 1ms subframe, Ki is the slots, such that (for example) 10 subframes times 4 slots equals an Ni of 40 for that period.
Sarkis also discloses wherein when the transmission combination does not belong to a first transmission period combination set, Ki=1 and F is a first value, wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises transmission period combinations.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Figure 6 displays various radio frames, of which contain the subframes and slots previously discussed above. Using the example provided above where Ni = 40 as one period, this value can also change depending on the subframe/slot combination.
Sarkis further discloses when the transmission period combination belongs to the first transmission period combination set, Ki is a predefined positive integer greater than 1 and F is the first value.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Si and Sarkis are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time domain resource unit configured based on numerical equation as taught by Sarkis so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Pan discloses: wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises at least part of following transmission period combinations: 1 ms transmission period and 4 ms transmission period, 4 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period, 2 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 2 ms transmission period, 1 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time-based transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 20,
Claim 20 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 8.
Regarding Claim 22,
Claim 22 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 10.
Regarding Claim 25,
Claim 25 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Si further discloses: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, wherein when executed by a processor, the program implements the following steps:
sending time domain resource indication information through a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH),
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0015] In one embodiment, a first user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The first UE comprises at least one processor configured to: determine a sidelink synchronization identity (SL-SID) and a set of resources.
[0020] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code.
[0109] A vehicular communication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), contains the following three different types: 1) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications; 2) vehicle-to-infrastructure (V21) communications; and 3) vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. These three types of V2X can use “co-operative awareness” to provide more intelligent services for end-users. This means that transport entities, such as vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and pedestrians, can collect knowledge of their local environment (e.g., information received from other vehicles or sensor equipment in proximity) to process and share that knowledge in order to provide more intelligent services, such as cooperative collision warning or autonomous driving. A direct communication between vehicles in V2V is based on a sidelink (SL) interface, and SL is the UE to UE interface for synchronization, discovery, and communication.
[0170] In one example (e.g., 1001 in FIG. 10A), the first and last symbols within a slot are reserved for other purpose, and symbols #1 to #6 are mapped for a first S-SSB within the slot, and symbols #7 to #12 are mapped for a second S-SSB within a slot, wherein the two S-SSBs have the same composition with respect to the time domain mapping: the first and second symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #1, #2, #7, and #8 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-PSS, the fourth and sixth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #4, #6, #10, and #12 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for S-SSS (if the BW of S-SSB is 12 RBs or 24 RBs) or multiplexing of S-SSS and PSBCH (if the BW of S-SSB is larger than 12 RBs such as 20 RBs), and the third and fifth symbols in the S-SSB (i.e., symbols #3, #5, #9, and #11 in term of the symbol index within the slot) are mapped for PSBCH.
[0269] In a second approach for the time-domain mapping of an S-SSB burst set, contiguous slots containing an S-SSB burst set can be mapped from starting from any slot within the period for transmitting the S-SSB burst set. In this approach, the starting location of the S-SSB burst set (e.g., slot index within the period) can be indicated to the V2X UE (such as using synchronization signals, or PBCH content, or DMRS of PBCH, or their combination), or can be pre-configured to the V2X UE.
Note: The “transmission resources” are being interpreted as the symbols in paragraph [0170] since Applicant’s paragraph [0072] states that symbol by symbol indication can indicate transmission resources of the sidelink.
Si does not disclose wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
However, Pan discloses: wherein the time domain resource indication information is configured to indicate a transmission period combination and a number of time domain resource units, wherein the transmission period combination is a combination of transmission periods.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Note: The combination of transmission periods occur in the transmission occasions discussed above (e.g., 6 slots/12 occasions, 8 slots/32 occasions).
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Si also does not disclose the final limitations of this claim.
Sarkis further discloses: wherein the number of time domain resource units is configured to indicate a number Ni of time slots in each of the transmission periods, wherein Ni=Mi*Ki, Mi is the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods, a time domain resource unit comprises Ki time slots, a value of a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the Ki time slots is F, and Ki is a predefined positive integer.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Per Figure 6, Mi is being interpreted as the 1ms subframe, Ki is the slots, such that (for example) 10 subframes times 4 slots equals an Ni of 40 for that period.
Sarkis also discloses wherein when the transmission combination does not belong to a first transmission period combination set, Ki=1 and F is a first value, wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises transmission period combinations.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Note: Figure 6 displays various radio frames, of which contain the subframes and slots previously discussed above. Using the example provided above where Ni = 40 as one period, this value can also change depending on the subframe/slot combination.
Sarkis further discloses when the transmission period combination belongs to the first transmission period combination set, Ki is a predefined positive integer greater than 1 and F is the first value.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Si and Sarkis are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time domain resource unit configured based on numerical equation as taught by Sarkis so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Pan discloses: wherein the first transmission period combination set comprises at least part of following transmission period combinations: 1 ms transmission period and 4 ms transmission period, 4 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period, 2 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 2 ms transmission period, 1 ms transmission period and 3 ms transmission period, 3 ms transmission period and 1 ms transmission period.
[0224] The 15 kHz SCS configuration may include 5 slots in one half-frame. In NR SS-Burst design, each slot may have 2 SSB locations. Hence, there may be 10 DRS transmission occasions (SSB candidate locations) in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 4 ms and 1 ms (or 2 occasions) may be empty. As shown in Table 1, after 10 occasions, the half-frame may change.
[0229] The 30 kHz configuration may include 10 slots in one half frame. There may be 20 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 2 ms and 3 ms (6 slots or 12 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 32 offsets may be used in one radio frame (40 occasions in one radio frame—8 SSB). Similarly, the 60 kHz configuration may include 20 slots in one half frame. There may be 40 DRS transmission occasions in the half-frame. In an example, 8 SSB/DRS may occupy 1 ms and 4 ms (8 slots or 32 occasions) may not have SSBs in NR. Up to 72 offsets may be used. The 30 kHz and 60 kHz SCS may be better candidates keeping the NR 8 SSB Burst design for FR1.
Si and Pan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having a time-based transmission period combination based on the number of time domain resource units in each of the transmission periods as taught by Pan so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 27,
Si does not disclose all the limitations of Claim 27.
Sarkis discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein F comprises the first value or a second value.
[0071] A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR may support a base subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz and other subcarrier spacing may be defined with respect to the base subcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing.
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as a sub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).
Si and Sarkis are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si to include the concept of having one frequency value as taught by Sarkis so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 30,
Claim 30 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 27.
Regarding Claim 32,
Claim 32 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 27.
Regarding Claim 34,
Claim 34 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 8.
Regarding Claim 36,
Claim 36 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 10.
Claims 28, 31, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Si in view of Pan and Sarkis, held further in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #99, “Sidelink synchronization mechanism”, R1-1912024, Reno, Nevada, November 18-22, 2019, herein referred to as “R1-1912024.” The R1-1912024 reference was provided in the information disclosure statement dated September 26, 2023.
Regarding Claim 28,
Si in view of Pan and Sarkis does not disclose all the limitations of Claim 28.
R1-1912024 discloses: The method of claim 27, wherein the first value is 120 kHz and the second value is 60 kHz.
PNG
media_image1.png
619
664
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Si in view of Pan, Sarkis, and R1-1912024 are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications networks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Si in view of Pan and Sarkis to include the concept of having a two different frequency values as taught by R1-1912024 so as to promote better communications over the SSB.
Regarding Claim 31,
Claim 31 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 28.
Regarding Claim 33,
Claim 33 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 28.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s response filed on May 7, 2026 is acknowledged.
The are no amended, new, or, canceled claims.
Claims 1, 8-10, 13, 20, 22, 25, 27-28, 30-34, and 36 are pending.
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1, 13, and 25 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE P. SAMLUK whose telephone number is (571)270-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights